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Guaranty Title & Trust Company bids Adieu

Title Insurance companies are licensed and regulated by each state the they are authorized to transact business in. In Illinois, that duty falls to the Department of Financial & Professional Regulation. On November 7, IDFPR announced the death of one of those companies, Guaranty Title & Trust Company.

Inquiries regarding the GTT liquidation and requests for Proofs of Claim forms should be directed to: The Office of the Ohio Insurance Liquidator, Attn: GTT, 50 W. Town Street, Third Floor, Suite 350, Columbus, OH 43215. The telephone for that office is (614) 487-9200.

SHOULD CONSUMERS TAKE ACTION? Well, that is going to depend on where you closed or who insures your title.

If your title insurance comes from Chicago Title, Ticor Title, First American, Stewart or LandAmerica, or Old Republic (which collectively control roughly 93% of the title insurance markets) you probably don't have any worries. Guaranty was not one of the "big five." Same goes for titles written by Attorneys Title Guaranty, Professional National Title, and as near as I can figure, Greater Illinois, Prairie, Mercury title too.

But if your title came from any other company, you might want to pull out that closing file and check to see if the title insurance underwriter was GTT. If so, pick up the phone and call your lawyer to get make sure you retain some insurance protection.
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